British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has stated that the UK government’s new policy on the restriction of foreign student visas is aimed at managing the pressure on social services for scholars.

Montgomery, who said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, explained that the policy was not targeted at discouraging Nigerian students studying in the UK.

According to him, at the moment in the UK, Nigerians desiring to study in the UK have a 97 per cent visa approval rate.

He urged Nigerians to see the new visa regime in the UK in a bigger context, a thing which he said is “really a positive for Nigeria and the United Kingdom”.

Montgomery said, “Three years ago, there were 20,000 Nigerian students in British higher education institutions, and last year, the number increased to 127,000. So, we had a five-fold increase in the number of students from Nigeria coming to UK universities.

“We are delighted that UK universities continue to attract the best and brightest from Nigeria. And in the wider context, last year, the UK granted three million new UK visas of various types including students and other visitors.

“Nigerians alone received 325,000 of those 3 million visas. So more than 10 per cent of the visas from the UK are to Nigerian citizens which is fantastic. It goes back to the fact that the UK and Nigeria have strong people-to-people links.

“The policy change is about people who are doing non-research degrees coming to the UK as undergraduates, or for a one-year master’s degree programme, and who decide to bring their dependents.

He continued, “We have had a very significant rise in the number of people coming from all around the world, not just from Nigeria. This has caused some strain on the UK. Sometimes it is difficult to find good accommodation as a student and there is real pressure on housing and social services for students.

“If you looked at it three years ago, only 1,500 dependants of students were coming to the UK from Nigeria, but now it was 52,000 last year.
I am just trying to put it in proper context, that this is an adjustment. The words that are being used in the media to describe the situation are misrepresenting. We are making an adjustment that enables us to manage the demands on services in university towns and elsewhere.

“Nigerians are very successful in acquiring visas. We have a 97 per cent approval rate and so that is the big context,” Montgomery said.

He expressed the UK’s pride in its research institutes and higher education which, he said, were listed among the top hundred universities in the world.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) branch in Benue State has praised Governor Hyacinth Alia for his choice to uphold the state’s ban on open grazing of livestock.

The state’s former governor, Samuel Ortom, signed the Prohibition of Open Grazing and Ranches Establishment Law in 2017, and it was intended to operate as a strong barrier against the inflow of herdsmen.

Remember that the governor said the bill will be examined when he took office, causing concern that his administration may repeal the measure.

His administration has, however, adopted the law as a way of tackling the security crisis bedevilling the state.

Reacting, PDP in a statement issued on Saturday by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, welcomed Alia’s final stand on the matter.

The party urged the governor to create an enabling environment for the herdsmen who are willing to embrace ranching to do so, saying those who are unwilling should be chased out of the state.

Part of the statement reads, “We welcome the governor’s stand and urge him to back his words regarding his new stand with action by getting those herdsmen willing to embrace ranching to take to the practice immediately while those unwilling to do so should leave the state.”

A Federal High Court sitting in Awka , Anambra State, on Wednesday, 21st June, ruled that the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning is never permitted to deduct the statutory allocation from the Federation Account that is owed to a State in a suit brought by the Attorney General of Anambra State against the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning alongside the Attorney General of the Federation who was joined as a party to the suit.

The Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account Etc) Act clearly states that the portion of funds from the federation account due to States and Local Governments shall be paid to the State who should then manage same for the benefit of their local governments. Accordingly, the learned justice Dimgba has posited that:

“Section 162 of the Constitution and the Allocation Of Revenue (Federation Account, Etc.) Act, 1982 does not permit any bilateral interaction between the Federal Government represented by the 1st Defendant and LGCs under a State. Section 162(5)(6)(7)(8) of the Constitution make it clear that any amount standing to the credit of LGCs must be allocated to the States who will in turn remit it to the State Joint Local Government Account and distribute them in the terms and manner approved by the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. In the event, any direct distribution of funds including refunds from the Federation Account to the LGCs in my view will be an infraction of the Constitution.

“And as I have held earlier, violation of law by a party is not one that is solved by resort to self-help by another party, or by a countervailing breach of the law by the activist party in a knock-for-knock or tit-for-tat formula. Violation of law by a party, where police powers have not been provided or granted to another seeking a remediation, can only be solved through judicial intervention initiated by the activist innocent party.”

His Lordship further added that “neither the Constitution in Section 162 nor the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account Etc) Act gave the 2nd Defendant (Attorney General of the Federation) any role in the allocation or sharing of revenues accruable to any of the tiers of Government in the federation account. I see no reason therefore why the 2nd Defendant should pick up the cudgel and start fighting for local governments in Anambra State when none of them has invited it to do so, and also when neither the relevant statute nor the Constitution given it any role in the relevant legal field.”

The Attorney General of Anambra sort amongst other reliefs had asked the court to hold as follows:

A DECLARATION that upon a proper construction of the provisions of Section 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), read along with Sections 2 (2) and 3 (1) of the said Constitution, the 1st Defendant cannot appropriate any money standing to the credit of the Federation for any purpose, other than, for the purpose of distribution to the three tiers of government, namely; the federal government, state governments and local governments.

A DECLARATION that by virtue of the provisions of Section 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), read along with Sections 2 (2) and 3 (1) of the said Constitution and Sections 1 & 3 of the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, Etc) Act, 1982, the 1st Defendant cannot make deductions from the statutory allocation to which the Plaintiff is entitled from the Federation Account for the purpose of crediting the Local Governments of Anambra State through the State Joint Local Government Account.

A DECLARATION that having regard to the provisions of Section 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), read along with Sections 2 (2) and 3 (1) of the said Constitution and Sections 1 & 3 of the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, Etc.) Act, 1982, the Defendants cannot, on behalf of the federal government, authorize the direct remittance of any funds to the Local Governments of the Plaintiff from the Federation Account.

Justice Dimgba said in delivering his verdict has said that, “In my view, there is no basis for the 1st Defendant to deduct the funds and retain them transitorily, that is, in escrow, Even sending the money directly to the local governments has no basis. As I alluded to before, doing so would be clearly illegal under both the Constitution and the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account Etc.) Act, as none of them established any provisions for a direct transfer of the 1st Defendant’s entitlements from the federation account to local governments”.

Earlier the defendants had challenged the court’s jurisdiction, contending that the suit constitutes a dispute between the Federation and a State (Anambra) of which the Supreme Court has exclusive original jurisdiction by virtue of Section 232(1) of the Constitution.

While warning against swamping the Supreme Court with every matter that has an agent of the federal government as a party, Justice Dimgba held:

“By virtue of Section 251(1)(r) 1999 CFRN, the Federal Government or any of its agencies can be sued in this Court for a declaration or injunction affecting the validity of any executive or administrative action or decision by the Federal Government or any of its agencies. And in this case, the Plaintiff is challenging the administrative action or decision of the 1st Defendant (a Minister of the Federal Government in charge of Finance) to deduct from its monthly statutory allocation and either withhold or directly remit same to the Local Government Councils (LGCs) as their share of the Paris Club Refund…

“It certainly cannot be that whenever a State has concerns in relation to the manner in which a federal official such as a minister or a federal agency such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) exercises its responsibility that affects that State adversely, then that activates a dispute between the federal government and the state in which only the Supreme Court will have original jurisdiction. May that day never come in which the apex court gets reduced to a magistrate court entertaining all sorts of sundry original matters simply because a state and federal officials are involved…”

The sack of Service Chiefs last week by President Bola Tinubu has provoked harsh words over their performance in office, with many lamenting that they presided over the needless death of more than 22, 000 citizens.

With high-profile killings, abductions and other crimes, their era was regarded as a period of inefficiency, leading to the sigh of relief that welcomed Tinubu’s action.

Since they came in at a time the nation was under the grip of bandits, kidnappers and ritual killers, there were high expectations from Nigerians. But the hope turned into a nightmare as non-state actors operated with reckless abandon across the country.

Though their removal was not surprising given the emergence of a new leader of the country, many saw their exit as overdue.

The President had, last Monday, relieved the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, Chief of the Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya, Chief of the Naval Staff, Awwal Gambo, Chief of the Air Staff, Isiaka Amao, and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali of their duties.

Of the attacks that took place during their tenure, many were quick to point at the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, the Owo massacre and Kuje jailbreak as their lowest points.

Apart from questioning the capacity of Nigerian security personnel, the incidents exposed many fault lines in the nation’s security architecture.

Security architecture

The human and material losses that accompanied the incidents are countless as many victims are licking their wounds while the victims died for no crime of theirs.

On March 28, 2022, bandits ambushed an Abuja-bound train in Kaduna, bombing the rail track and killing eight passengers.

No fewer than 168 persons were taken away in the attack which was largely attributed to the failure of intelligence.

Security experts had accused the authorities of failing to act as the incident happened a few days after unidentified gunmen invaded the Kaduna airport, killing an official on the runway.

There was also the Owo massacre of June 2022, which saw bandits attacking Saint Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, killing no fewer than 70 worshipers.

The state police command said the attack was carried out by gunmen at about 11:30 a.m., while the church service was ongoing.

Eyewitnesses said the gunmen threw explosives into the church and started shooting as the worshippers scampered for safety.

On the heels of that incident was a deadly jailbreak in Kuje, the heart of the Federal Capit6al Territory, FCT, Abuja.

No fewer than 400 inmates escaped in the attack the Islamic State in West Africa Province, ISWAP, claimed responsibility.

Four inmates, several attackers and a security guard died in the incident, which happened less than 47 kilometres from the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Nigeria’s seat of power. About 1,000 inmates were in the facility when the attack took place, according to officials.

The event increased the number of prison escapees in Nigeria, which was over 5,000 at the time.

They’ll be remembered as inefficient

These, however, led to the conclusion that the outgone Service Chiefs would be remembered for high-profile attacks and deaths of countless citizens.

Coordinator General, Access to Advocacy and Rights of the People, Mr. Akintunde Adedeji, said: “We all witnessed the spate of insecurity under President Buhari. It was unchecked. History will remember them as being inefficient. It will remember them for displaying gross ineptitude as they were unable to reduce the spate of insecurity to the barest minimum. We were all living witness to the allegations of corruption that permeated the military bodies.

“History won’t record anything good about them. It is one thing to be the head of a military organisation, it is another thing to have the will, the patriotic zeal to be exemplary in the discharge of duties. This has to do with a disposition towards addressing or tackling insecurity. The body language of the Commander-in-Chief who is a retired general was not the best. It rubbed off on those Service Chiefs. As the saying goes when the head is rotten, the whole body is useless.

“As a former military man, the Commander-in-Chief did not measure up in ensuring that he put the Service Chiefs on their toes to reduce insecurity to the barest minimum. The lack of will and patriotic zeal to address it was responsible for the inefficiency of the service chiefs.”

Nigerians’ expectation

Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, on his part, said: “Every administration wants to be unique. Whatever the Service Chiefs did wrong was not obvious because it was not significantly different from what their predecessors did. The truth is just that Nigerians are dissatisfied with the state of security and intelligence gathering in the nation.

“In most cases, preventable security breaches do occur, especially in areas prone to terrorist attacks. And that is a minus in the way law enforcement and intelligence agencies do their work. That might be the reason they were removed. Maybe the new administration wants to inject new blood or invigorate the security architecture to send a signal to those that are coming in.

“History will remember them as people who passed through and did their best, which wasn’t good enough for the aspirations of the Nigerians. In Nigeria, you can’t say citizens are well-secured because kidnapping happens always. Inexplicable killings go on in several parts of the country. There are massacres in various states such as Kaduna and Plateau.

“ It could be that during their tenure there was a failure of intelligence. It is either the intelligence gathering was flawed or the means through which they obtained intelligence was awkward. This could have led to the killings and the attack on the railway, the kidnap of passengers and the pogrom that happened on farmlands and several villages in different parts of the country.

‘Nigerians are not happy’

National Coordinator, Activist for Good Governance, Mr Declan Ihekaire, comment on the issue, said: “Rather than say they were sacked or removed, I will say they were relieved of their duties based on the change of guard, which is at the discretion of whoever is at the helm of affairs in every country. We can say that they have not done well in their duties, but it is not to say that they didn’t do their best. Though they did their best, the fact remains that the security situation is still very porous, so porous that the government of today must do so much to give hope and assurance to the citizenry that security will be better.

“I will urge the current administration to endeavour to have a conference of past and present Service Chiefs where questions on what has resulted in the current situation can be asked. Through those questions, they can proffer solutions. Before the service chiefs came in under Buhari, banditry and killings had been in existence. During Jonathan, Yar’Adua and Obasanjo’s administration, insecurity was there. Now, the question should be why hasn’t it reduced drastically? Is it because Nigerians are not happy with themselves? Is it that external forces are fuelling the crisis? Is it that we don’t have the resources to combat the criminals? Is it that there was no money to carry out operations? These questions should be asked.

“The current administration should be able to broaden its knowledge of governance because when they do so, they can capture where the previous administration failed and what will be done differently to get things right.”

Worse

Also speaking, acting National Chairperson, Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, and Oyo State Coordinator of Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights, CDWR, Mr. Abiodun Bamigboye, said: “The job of the Service Chiefs, which is to ensure adequate protection of lives and properties of Nigerians was defeated, not only under the Buhari administration even under his predecessors. The failure was so much under the Buhari-led administration. It showed that they failed in their responsibilities.

“Under them, insecurity got worse. What we used to know under Jonathan was Boko Haram; under Buhari, we began to have banditry, insurgency and herder-farmer clashes. While kidnapping became a big business, youth restlessness doubled. All of these are the scorecard of the service chiefs.

“I don’t think relieving them of their duties is a wrong decision, although it won’t strengthen the security network in the country even though they are replaced with the best. I say this because at the root of insecurity in this country are also economic issues. For instance, what is the population of unemployed Nigerians? It is so massive than the population of many European countries combined.

“The poverty rate is so massive too. When this is looked at, it will be understood that it is not about changing the Service Chiefs but paying attention to the root of insecurity.

“Any government that wants to end insecurity must ensure that the economic root is tackled. It is not just having a general as a president, the rate of unemployment and poverty also fuels insecurity. Without a government that would tackle unemployment and poverty among others, there is nothing that Service Chiefs can do that would translate into improvement in security.”

Six Nigerians have died in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia while performing this year’s pilgrimage.

The deceased were among the 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims who made the annual journey to the holy land for this year’s hajj exercise.

The head of the Nigerian medical team for the pilgrimage, Dr Usman Galadima, made the disclosure in Makkah on Saturday night.

He also revealed that 30 persons underwent psychiatric evaluation.

Speaking during a pre-Arafat meeting with stakeholders, he said two of the deceased pilgrims were from Osun State; and one each from Kaduna and Plateau.

He said of the them died of cardiac arrest; and others, of illnesses he did not disclosed.

Galadima, whose presentation was tagged ‘Vital Events as of June 24, 2023’, said the team attended to 30 pilgrims with mental health challenge.

He, however, assured that the patients would perform hajj as they “are now in a stable condition.”

He said seven pregnancies were recorded among the pilgrims; two from Sokoto State and one each from Adamawa, Kwara, Yobe, Plateau and Katsina.

Galadima also disclosed that two miscarriages were recorded; while a diabetic pilgrim had his leg amputated.

He said his team offered consultations to a total of 15, 860 Nigerian pilgrims and referred about 100 to Saudi hospitals.

Earlier, the chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Zikirullah Kunle Hassan, said all the 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims had been airlifted for the exercise.

A Federal High Court, presided over by Justice S.A. Amobeda, sitting in Kano, on Friday, granted an Ex-Parte Motion, stopping the state Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, from further demolitions of structures and property in the state.

The Motion Ex-Parte, was filed by a citizen, Saminu Muhammad, through his lawyer.

The court restrained the Kano State Government and its agents from demolishing some buildings located along BUK road.

Justice S. A. Amobeda, particularly, ordered Kano state government to stop plans of demolishing the applicant’s property located on No. 41 and 43 Salanta, along BUK Road, Kano.

Respondents joined in the suit are Attorney-General of Kano State, Solicitor General of Kano State, Governor of Kano state, Kano State government and Kano State Bureau for Land Management.

Others include Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority, Inspector-General of Police, Nigeria Police Force, Commissioner of Police, Commandant General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The court, after listening to the motion moved by the applicant’s counsel, Prof. Nasiru Aliyu, SAN, ordered accelerated hearing of the case and adjourned the suit to 10 July, 2023.

The Order partly reads: “That Order of this Court is hereby made in the interim restraining the Respondents by themselves, agents, servant or proxies whatsoever called from encroaching, trespassing, entering, invading, demolishing or revoking the Applicant’s titles or doing any other act in respect of the Applicant’s property No. 41 and 43 situate at Salanta, along BUK Road, Kano, covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. KNMLO8228 and Certificate of Occupancy No. KNMLO8229 pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion.

“That Order of this Honourable Court is hereby made granting leave to the bailiff of this court to serve the 3rd, 4h, 5h and 6th Respondents with all processes and all subsequent processes in this suit through any staff or officer in the office of the 1st and 2nd Respondents and deeming the service as valid, personal and proper.

“That Order of this Honourable Court is made granting leave to the bailiff of this Court to serve the 7th and 8th Respondents with all processes and all subsequent processes in this suit through the office of the 9th Respondent and deeming the service as valid, personal and proper.

“That Order of this Honourable Court is hereby made granting leave to the bailiff of this Court to serve the 10th and 11th Respondents with all processes and all subsequent processes in this suit through the office of the 12th Respondent and deeming the service as valid, personal and proper.

“Accelerated hearing is hereby ordered. That Order of this Court and al the processes in this suit shall be served on the Respondents. That the matter is adjourned to 10m July, 2023 for Hearing.”

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over its new Regulations on customers’ social media handles.

The apex bank in its new customer Due Diligence Regulations, which is aimed at further deepen the identification process in the banking system, had mandated Financial Institutions to obtain the social media handle, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, residential addresses, among others from their customers.

But reacting, SERAP urged the Acting Governor of the CBN, Folashodun Shonubi, to immediately delete the provisions in the CBN (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations or face legal action.

In a letter dated June 24, 2023 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, which was made available to THE WHISTLER in Lagos, the organisation said the CBN Regulations and directive to banks to obtain details of customers’ social media address violate Nigerians’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy, adding that it is inconsistent and incompatible with the rule of law.

SERAP said the CBN ought to contribute to the advancement of respect for the rule of law and human rights in the discharge of its statutory functions, and not undermine or violate these fundamental legal requirements and standards.

According to the organisation, the purported mandatory requirement would inhibit Nigerians from freely exercising their human rights online, stressing that if obtained, such information may also be misused for political and other unlawful purposes.

The letter, read in part: “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 3 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the CBN to comply with our request in the public interest.”

“The mandatory requirement of social media handles or addresses of customers does not serve any legitimate aim. Such information may be used to unjustifiably or arbitrarily to restrict the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.”

“SERAP is gravely concerned that the CBN Regulations and directive to banks and other financial institutions would impermissibly restrict the constitutional and international rights to freedom of expression, privacy and victims’ right to justice and effective remedies.”

“Requiring social media handles or addresses of customers as a means of identification would have a disproportionate chilling effect on the effective enjoyment by Nigerians of their rights to freedom of expression and privacy online.”

“The CBN bears the burden of justifying any restriction on people’s freedom of expression and privacy. Under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and human rights treaties to which the country is a state party, any restrictions on these rights must be applied strictly so that the rights are not put in jeopardy.”

“There are other means of identification such as passport, driver’s licence, Bank Verification Number (BVN), and Tax Identification Number (TIN), which banks and other financial institutions already require their customers to provide.”

“The additional requirement of obtaining details of a customer’s social media handle or address fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”

“The requirement of necessity implies an assessment of the proportionality of the grounds, with the aim of ensuring that the excuse of ‘regulations on customer due diligence’ is not used as a pretext to unduly intrude upon the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.”

“The CBN Regulation does not demonstrate how the use of social media handle or address as a means of identification would serve to improve banks and other financial institutions’ ability to implement and comply with the laws and regulations relating to customer due diligence.”

In Enugu, the governorship election petition tribunal has recently rejected a request made by Chijioke Edoga, who is the Labour Party's candidate, to question the state governor, Peter Mbah, regarding his credentials.

In a recent development, a petitioner has raised questions regarding Mbah's appointments as chief of staff and commissioner for finance, as well as his educational background, including the year he was called to the Nigeria Bar and the institutions he attended.

In a ruling delivered on Saturday, the tribunal's chairman, Kudirat Akano, deemed the application to be a "fishing expedition".

According to the judge, the questions being posed by the petitioners were not included in their petition.

In agreement with Ikechukwu Onuoma, the governor's counsel, she stated that the petitioners were attempting to amend their petition in accordance with paragraph 14(1) of the first schedule of the Electoral Act.

According to her, the primary purpose of interrogatories is to elicit admission from the parties involved regarding the matter that has been pleaded. She further noted that the petitioner had not pleaded to the matter in question.

During the proceedings, the tribunal reviewed its pre-hearing session report in conjunction with the verdict.

According to the tribunal resolution, the petitioner has been granted a seven-day window to substantiate their case, while INEC has been allotted two days to summon its witnesses.

The second and third respondents have been given a four-day window to summon their witnesses, according to sources.

In a closely contested election, Mbah emerged victorious with a total of 160,895 votes, defeating Edeoga who came in second with 157,552 votes.

Pastors descend on Church Overseer who is to die by hanging in Rivers State for the murder of his pregnant mistress, her friend and nine-year-old daughter.

The involvement of supposed men of God in heinous crimes has left a big
question mark as to who really is a man of God and how does the public know one?

In a recent case, in Rivers State, the General Overseer of Altar of Solution and Healing Assembly, Pastor Chidiebere Okoroafor, blamed the devil after being sentenced to death by a Port Harcourt High Court for the murder of his choir mistress, her friend and 11-month-old toddler.

And the response from the clergy was “you were never a man of God.”

Manifestation of the beast in Afam, Oyigbo Local Government Area based Okoroafor came into light when operatives of the Homicide Department of Rivers Police Command apprehended him on December 17, 2017 following the alarm raised by one Joseph Ezenwa.

Ezenwa’s wife, Chigozie, with nine months old Christabel strapped to her back, had accompanied her friend, Orlunma Nwagba, to meet Okoroafor, their pastor.

In the police account of his confession, Okoroafor had, in a secret sexual affair, impregnated 25-year-old Orlunma, his church choir mistress.

Both friends on December 11, 2017 set out to confront the General Overseer to resolve the scandalous pregnancy issue.

Evil Genius

Apparently decided on erasing the looming scandal on his own terms, Okoroafor had separated his visitors.

He lured the pregnant choir mistress to an uncompleted building while asking her friend to stay three “poles” away.

According to then-DCP Cyril Okoro of the Rivers Police Command, the pastor strangled Orlunma in the uncompleted building.

He then rejoined Chigozie and left with her and her baby on a tricycle (keke) to Afam Roundabout.

From the roundabout, they took a motorbike on lonely Igberu Road.

Okoroafor murdered his second victim in an isolated bush, using the wrapper with which Chigozie strapped her baby to her back to suffocate her.

“The baby was equally discovered dead. This murder by the suspect was premeditated, callous and devoid of human sympathy,” Okoro had said, adding that the pastor manipulated both friends after taking advantage of the trust they had in him.

Retribution

Eight years after, Justice S.O Benson, in the June 6, 2023 judgment, said the evidence and confessional statements from the pastor showed he committed the crime.

The prosecution, having proven the case of murder against the cleric, the judge ordered that Okoroafor be killed by hanging or served lethal injection which kills faster.

Counsel from the state Ministry of Justice, Precious Ordu, said the prosecution was undaunted despite receiving threats through the trial and that it was gratifying that “justice has been served to state, the complainant, and the convict”, while also thanking the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) which brought up the case before the state took over.

Resolved to appeal the judgment, counsel for the defendant, Dr Innocent Ekwu, said the court ‘misconceived the law’, adding, “The court held there was no eyewitness, not even one throughout the trial. The court also held there was no circumstantial evidence linking the fellow to murder.

“The court convicted him of murder on account of his confessional statements. We, as counsel to the defendant, are going to file our notice of appeal as quickly as possible because we have grounds on which we believe the defendant did not commit the offence.”

The convict, upon his sentence, as he was said to have told the police back in 2017, said his actions were the handiwork of the devil while also apologising to relatives of those murdered.

Clerics Speak

Rev Emmanuel Nwabuikwu, Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Port Harcourt, said, “Crime is a societal thing. Human beings will commit it in different ways, at different times. However, when this has to do with a supposed pastor, there lies the prophetic factor

“Bible lets us know at this period in history that evil will increase and many charlatans, and false prophets will arise, Matthew 24:11. So, from the Christian viewpoint, these things happening are not a surprise.

“People blame the devil for the evil they knowingly and consciously commit. Inasmuch as Satan is a real spiritual entity in Christian belief, every man is responsible before God and society for the crimes they commit, and they will pay. So, it is pointless blaming the devil.

“There are those who present selves as men of God but are pretentious predators that fleece the ignorant and gullible. It is their appetite that called them to ministry, not God.

“The media is quick to flash every news about men of God misbehaving, but it’s important to understand that it’s not every ‘man of God’ that is a man of God.”

Rev Ese Diajiyeren of Good Shepherd Baptist Church, on his part, said, “Truth remains that incidents of this kind abound. Crime is condemnable. I feel the so-called pastor wanted to cover up his crime (2 Samuel 11). See the case of King David and Bathsheba.

“Yes, the devil tempts, but we are told in scripture not to give him a chance (Ephesians 4: 27). It is in giving the devil a chance that usually leads to such regrettable actions.

“A true man of God who is careless can fall into the first temptation, like King David. The issue of temptation is a real issue. Hence we are admonished in scripture to be on guard or alert (1 Pet. 5: 8).

“A true man of God is known by his fruit. His preaching/words must match his actions. Pastoral ministry like some other professions brings the pastor in contact with several people, especially female folks seeking his attention.

“To steer clear of sexual temptation and attendant challenges, pastors should set boundaries for selves in their relationship with the opposite sex.

“Also, they are advised to be mindful of their humanity. That one is a pastor does not remove sexuality from him. He is to be alert to that fact and keep his sexual urge under tight control. Above all, there is no excuse for taking the lives of others. “

The jostle for positions in President Bola Tinubu’s administration, especially for ministerial appointments has reportedly intensified.

Checks by Naija News reveal that there are 27 ministries left vacant by the immediate past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The jostle for these positions has gotten hotter, as former governors, and lawmakers of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), who lost in the 2023 general elections have reportedly intensified efforts to lobby for appointment.

This platform earlier reported that there are strong indications that some chapters of the APC have completed the compilation for ministerial appointments from President Tinubu.

Also, others as gathered by Naija News are still in the process of compilation to be forwarded d to the party’s secretariat in Abuja for onward transmission to President Tinubu.

While several groups have called on the President not to consider old governors and other categories for appointments, former governors, senators, and other bigwigs in the ruling party have reportedly intensified their lobby for ministerial appointments in Tinubu’s cabinet.

Below are the vacant 27 ministries open to be filled.

Federal Capital Territory Administration

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Ministry of Aviation

Ministry of Budget and National Planning

Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Ministry of Education

Ministry of Environment

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Health

Ministry of Information and Culture

Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy

Ministry of Interior

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Labour and Employment

Ministry of Petroleum Resources

Ministry of Water Resources

Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development

Ministry of Mines and Steel Development

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs

Ministry of Power

Ministry of Transportation.

Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development

Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation

Ministry of Youth and Sport

Ministry of Works and Housing

Ministry of Foreign Affairs